Star Bright

  Dee Dee shivered. “And I thought my first husband was a nutcase.”

  “Danning is a nutcase, all right.” Loni pushed at her brown hair. “The problem is that he doesn’t seem crazy until you really get to know him. He reveals that side of himself only in personal relationships after he has established a tyrannical balance of power. He lures young women in, pretending to be whatever they need him to be until he has them where he wants them. That’s why Rainie fears him so deeply. She was totally taken in by him, and nine times out of ten, other people are as well.”

  “There’s no need for you to be afraid, Rainie,” Frank said gently. “If Parker can’t handle him, and I’ll be damned surprised if he can’t, the rest of us will be standin’ in line to take a turn at him.”

  Loni nodded. “That goes without saying, Dad. I think Rainie already knows that Parker will be there for her, and we’ve certainly done our best to assure her that the rest of us will be.” She splayed her hands on the table, her usually gentle expression going taut and solemn. “But she also needs to know that she can count on the support of law enforcement. That’s where I come in.” She turned that luminous, insightful gaze on Rainie. “Will you at least give me the go-ahead to feel them out? I don’t have to mention names. I can give them the bare-bones facts—that this man is a predator, that he murdered his first two wives, and that he would have killed you if you hadn’t gotten away from him.”

  “What if they put two and two together and realize you’re talking about me?” Rainie asked, her voice going shrill with anxiety. “My case is still under investigation, so it’s fresh in their minds.”

  “What other option do you have but to take your chances with the cops?” Quincy asked. “According to Loni, the man’s insane and won’t give up until you’re dead. You can’t live the rest of your life looking over your shoulder. Sometimes you’re forced into taking a stand. If you do it now, at least you’ll have all of us behind you.”

  “I don’t get why you’re so worried about the police,” Zach said. “Is there a law against faking your own death?”

  Loni turned up her palms. “I don’t think faking your own death is actually a crime, Zach, but there are often secondary criminal offenses that arise as a result.”

  “Insurance fraud is one,” Tucker observed. He glanced at his wife. “All of us know about that firsthand. Not so long ago, Sam almost went to jail for equine mortality insurance fraud.” He gave Rainie a questioning look. “Are there any policies out on you?”

  Rainie’s stomach clenched. “I, um . . . yes, Peter purchased a couple of life insurance policies on me shortly after we got married.”

  “For how much?” Tucker asked.

  A cold sweat filmed Rainie’s body, for she had never considered the insurance angle. “A couple of million, I think.”

  “Damn,” Quincy said, and then whistled softly. “He covered all the bases, didn’t he? With you out of the picture, he stands to get your inheritance plus two million in insurance benefits.”

  Zach shook his head. “He’s a greedy bastard, isn’t he?”

  “His greed is beside the point,” Tucker observed. “The problem is that life insurance policies make the legal ramifications all the more severe for Rainie. Insurance fraud is a felony.”

  “But Rainie doesn’t stand to benefit,” Zach pointed out.

  “That may be difficult to prove if Danning tries to cash in on a policy.” Tucker rubbed the back of his neck. “Rainie might have a hell of time proving that she wasn’t in on the scheme.”

  “Which is why I’m encouraging her to step forward now, before the situation grows any more complicated,” Loni said.

  A horrible sinking sensation filled Rainie’s chest. Parker rested an arm over the back of her chair and curled a warm hand over her shoulder. The hardness of his palm and the gentle press of his fingertips soothed her somehow.

  Loni pushed up from the table, her chair grating over the tiles as her legs nudged it backward. “If we contact the authorities now, it will be clear to any insurance companies involved that Rainie never had fraudulent intent. There’s no question in my mind that law enforcement will go after Danning. The man has already killed two women, and Rainie would have been his third victim.”

  “That will be extremely difficult to prove,” Rainie protested. “That he killed his first two wives, I mean. My friends and I already researched it on the Internet, and Peter was very careful to cover his tracks. The first one was cremated right after the coroner did an autopsy. I don’t know what kind of poison he used, but it must not have shown up. And there’s no telling what happened to the second wife’s car after it plunged over that cliff. Without the car as evidence, it’s only supposition that her brakes were tampered with.”

  “You won’t need to prove anything to get law enforcement in your corner,” Loni insisted. “I saw what he did. I know he’s guilty.”

  Clint had been quiet for a while, but he spoke up again to say, “Loni isn’t some crackpot psychic who uses smoke and mirrors for effect.” He craned his neck to look down the table at Rainie again. “Since tying up with her, the FBI’s success rate at recovering abducted children has risen substantially. So far, her visions have never been off base, not even once. If she goes to her law enforcement contacts with your story, her word won’t be questioned. They know from experience that she’s never wrong.”

  Rainie looked at Loni, who stood with her slender arms folded at her waist.

  “It’s true,” she said softly. “My contacts listen up when I tell them something. I know it’s scary for you to think about resurfacing, but once you do, you’re going to discover that most of your fears are unfounded. These people are professionals. Their aim is to punish the criminal, not the victim, and you, Rainie, are clearly the victim. You’ve done nothing wrong.” When Rainie started to speak, Loni lifted a staying hand. “I won’t give them names or implicate you in any way until I’m certain, absolutely certain, that they will be on your side. How’s that sound?”

  Parker shifted his arm forward to encircle Rainie’s shoulders. “I think Rainie needs to think about it. We’ve thrown a lot at her in a short time. I vote that we table this discussion until tomorrow so she can sleep on it.”

  “Parker’s right,” Frank said. “We don’t want to push her into makin’ a decision she doesn’t feel comfortable with.”

  Rainie smiled shakily. “I appreciate all the support. Truly I do. But I would like to mull it over for a while.”

  “Just know this,” Frank added. “However it shakes out at Loni’s end, I can arrange for a top-notch defense attorney to negotiate all the details, makin’ sure that you’re protected legally.”

  “I can’t really afford an attorney,” Rainie confessed.

  “I can,” Parker inserted softly. When Rainie stiffened, he quickly added, “Just a loan. You can pay me back on a monthly schedule. I’ll even tack on interest if that will make you feel better.”

  Frank scowled. “Have you considered the danger you could be in if you go home, Rainie? If this Danning character is lookin’ for you, there’s no tellin’ what rock he may turn over next. We can’t take a chance on him catchin’ you alone.”

  Rainie hadn’t thought that far ahead.

  “I think you should stay here at the ranch,” Frank suggested. “Ever since Samantha’s horses were poisoned, we’ve been beefin’ up security. When Clint married Loni, we updated the systems even more to keep reporters from houndin’ her. The technologies are so advanced now that we no longer even need guards at the gates. The perimeters of all twelve hundred acres are guarded with electronic-eye gadgets and motion-activated cameras. If anything larger than a small dog crosses the fence lines, the folks monitorin’ the cameras at the security company know about it immediately. If the interloper is human, they notify us and the police. In short, Danning can’t come onto the property, day or night, without bein’ seen.”

  “Rainie and I haven’t had a chance to discuss where she
should stay yet, Dad,” Parker said.

  “Well, she shouldn’t go home,” Frank stressed, pushing up from his chair. He circled the table to slip an arm around Rainie’s shoulders, crowding Parker out in the process. “Stop lookin’ like a rabbit caught in the crosshairs of a rifle, honey. No matter what you decide to do, you won’t be facin’ it alone. It’s gonna be okay.”

  Tears sprang to Rainie’s eyes. His hard, sturdy embrace reminded her painfully of her father. “Thank you, Mr. Harrigan. I appreciate that.”

  “Frank,” he corrected, “or Dad, if you like. We don’t stand on ceremony around here.”

  Now Rainie understood why Parker loved his family so much. They were behind him a hundred percent, and now, because he had asked it of them, they were behind her as well. For the first time in her life, she knew, up close and personal, how truly wonderful it would be to have a family like this.

  When everyone had left, Parker sat across from Rainie at the table and gave her a searching look. “You still pissed at me for runnin’ off at the mouth about your personal life?”

  Rainie bit back a smile. It was so like Parker to get directly to the point. In the beginning, his directness had unnerved her. Over time, though, she’d come to appreciate that trait. She always knew where she stood with him, no guessing games.

  “I was upset at first. Marrying Peter was the worst mistake of my life, and sharing the details is something I prefer to avoid. Your family was great about it, though.”

  “All of them understand,” he said simply. “Sam didn’t get into it earlier, but she went through almost exactly the same thing. Married a gold-diggin’, vicious alcoholic. If something like that can happen to her, with all of us livin’ a stone’s throw away, then it can happen to anyone.”

  “Maybe so, but I’m still not proud of it.”

  His jaw muscle ticked as he studied her. “Sammy used to feel the same way. I never did understand that. It was Steve Fisher’s sin, not hers.”

  “A person still feels ashamed,” Rainie told him. “I allowed it to happen. I stayed when I should have left. I groveled to keep him from hitting me. I lost touch with who I was and became a pathetic, cowardly creature who obsessed about hanging the toilet paper in the wrong direction.”

  “The toilet paper?” His expression mirrored his bewilderment. “He hit you for hangin’ it the wrong way? Holy hell. I grew up feelin’ lucky if we had some, we went through it so fast.” He sighed and raked sturdy fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry. Off subject. Just know that I don’t think you should feel embarrassed about anything that happened durin’ that marriage. I apologize for talkin’ with my family about it and makin’ you feel uncomfortable, but I couldn’t see a way around it. We’ll need Loni’s intercession if you decide to contact the cops, and I’ll feel better knowin’ that everyone else is standin’ in the wings, ready to provide backup.” He held her gaze for a long moment. “I know you’re reluctant to turn yourself in, and I totally understand why. But have you stopped to consider that the choice may soon be taken away from you?”

  “If Peter finds me, you mean?”

  He nodded. “You’ll have to bring in the authorities at that point. Judgin’ from what I’ve heard about the bastard, he has no stops.”

  “I could disappear again.”

  He considered that option with unshakable calm. “And what will stop him from findin’ you again? Next time, you won’t have me and my family, Rainie. You’ll be a sittin’ duck.”

  A shiver of dread coursed through her, for she knew he was right.

  “That’s why I called my family,” he went on. “The more people you have to watch your back right now, the better. I’m also a firm believer that several heads are better than two, so I wanted to get their feedback. Your next move may predict the outcome of this situation. I didn’t want to go off half-cocked and give you bad advice.”

  “I understand why you involved them,” she conceded. “It’s just . . .” She broke off, finding it difficult to put her feelings into words. “I feel funny about asking people I barely know for help.”

  “You’re not askin’.” His mouth tipped into a smile. “They’re offerin’. Like Clint says, it’s the Harrigan way. Our dad is big on family loyalty.” He helped himself to one of the cookies that Dee Dee had left behind. “Speakin’ of my dad, he made a good point. You really shouldn’t go home and spend the night alone.”

  “But I have Thomas waiting. I can’t abandon him again. It’s not only about his getting food and water. He’s my little friend, and he looks forward to being with me at night.”

  “He can stay here. He and Mojo got along all right when I was workin’ on your house.” His dark gaze drifted over her face. His larynx bobbed as he swallowed. “You don’t have to bunk here with me, you know. The security is good on all six parcels. Dad and Dee Dee would love to have you. Same goes for Clint and Loni or Sam and Tucker. It’s completely up to you. The cat will be welcome wherever you choose to stay.”

  Rainie didn’t want to offend him by saying she wanted to sleep somewhere else. From the first, he’d worked hard to earn her trust, his efforts culminating today in a princely effort to protect her. He deserved to know that she appreciated all he’d done. It was just . . . difficult for her. He was a healthy, virile man, and if he truly was falling in love with her, which she believed he was, he might expect more from her physically than she was prepared to give. Rainie wasn’t sure how she should handle that. She knew only that she’d taken the first step toward Parker that morning, and now it was time to take a second one, counting on him to be as patient and wonderful about the sexual aspects of their relationship as he’d been about everything else.

  “I’d rather stay here with you,” she told him. A part of her wanted to tack on, Just, please, understand that I’m not ready for any kind of intimacy yet. But another part of her knew the words weren’t necessary, so she refused to say them aloud.

  “Done, then.” His firm mouth tipped into a crooked grin. “I’ll love havin’ you here.”

  An hour later, Parker forced himself to stand aside while Rainie tried to unlock the front door of her duplex. Her hand was shaking so badly that she kept missing the keyhole. When he could bear it no longer, he wrested the key from her quivering fingertips and disengaged the lock for her.

  As the door swung inward, she clutched his wrist. “Parker, wait.”

  He angled a questioning look at her.

  “He, um . . .” Her face lost color, and she moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “Seattle is only nine hours away. If he’s found out where I am, he could be . . .” She cast a dread-filled glance at the door. “He could be in there waiting.”

  A surge of purely masculine pride almost made Parker bristle. Didn’t she realize that he could whistle “Dixie” while he kicked Danning’s ass? She had absolutely no reason to feel afraid. But when he searched her haunted gaze and recalled all the horrific events that she’d recounted to him earlier that day, he couldn’t blame her for being terrified.

  “No worries,” he said. “You stay out here on the porch while I check the house.”

  “No!” Her grasp on his wrist grew more frantic. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  Parker wrested his arm from her grip and cupped her chin in his hand. Her skin felt as soft as duckling down beneath his fingertips, and her small oval face was, without question, one of the loveliest he’d ever seen. “Nothin’ is goin’ to happen to me, honey. Get that cemented in your mind. I know how to handle myself in a fight.”

  “He won’t fight fair,” she informed him shakily.

  Parker chuckled. “And you think I will? I’m a country boy, darlin’. My dad taught me never to pick a fight, but if someone else starts it, I’ll finish it, one way or another, even if I have to pick up an equalizer.”

  As he entered the small living room, she remained on the porch, wringing her hands. After returning from the kitchen, Parker saw her darting quick looks over he
r shoulder, as if she feared that Danning might sneak up behind her. His heart ached for her. How must it feel to be that frightened of another human being? As a child, Parker supposed he must have felt at a disadvantage physically, but it had been so many years ago that he could no longer remember it clearly. He’d also been blessed with a fabulous, caring father who had insisted that Parker learn to defend himself at a very young age. Even Samantha had been required to learn how to take care of herself. With his daughter, Frank had focused on different fighting strategies than he had with his boys, but the result had been the same. Despite her diminutive stature, Sam had learned how to protect herself. Those skills had saved her bacon in a fracas more than once as an adult.

  After checking the bedroom, Parker called, “All clear.”

  At the summons, Rainie hurried into the house and closed the door. Resting a shoulder against the doorjamb, Parker watched as she engaged the dead bolt and a chain guard.

  “What are you doin’?” he asked.

  She whirled to face him. Circles underscored her large, hazel eyes, and her soft mouth was chalk white. “He could be out there.” She clasped her hands at her slender waist. “I don’t want him sneaking in on us.”

  In that moment, Parker wished he could take her in his arms and promise her that Danning would never hurt her again. But he’d already made that vow earlier. He had a hunch it would do no good to offer the same assurance twice. What she needed was a crash course in self-defense. As it was, she was completely dependent upon him to protect her. As certain as Parker was that he could do that, he also understood that it had to make her feel horribly insecure. She needed to believe in herself.